The invention is related to a soft magnetic material. More particularly, the invention is related to a soft magnetic material comprising iron, cobalt, and nitrogen. The invention is also related to a method for making a soft magnetic material.
Soft magnetic materials play a key role in a number of applications, especially in electric and electromagnetic devices. There is a growing need for lightweight, and compact electric generators. Compact machine designs may be realized through an increase in the rotational speed of the machine. In order to operate at very high speeds, these machines need rotors with higher yield strength materials along with lower magnetic core losses, as well as the ability to operate at maximum flux densities. Generally, achieving high strength and superior magnetic performance concurrently is difficult in conventional materials, because high strength typically is obtained at the expense of magnetic properties such as magnetic saturation and core loss. Therefore, there is a need for a soft magnetic material with superior magnetic properties and higher mechanical strength when compared with currently available materials. There is a further need for a method for producing these materials.